oPMN counts obtained through a 30-s oral rinse are a good marker of oral inflammatory load and correlate with measures of periodontal disease severity.

BackgroundPeriodontal diseases are inflammatory processes that occur following the influx of neutrophils into the periodontal tissues in response to the subgingival bacterial biofilm. Current literature suggests that while neutrophils are protective and prevent bacterial infections, they also appear to contribute to damage of the periodontal tissues. In the present study we compare the gene expression profile changes in neutrophils as they migrate from the circulation into the oral tissues in patients with chronic periodontits and matched healthy subjects. We hypothesized that oral neutrophils in periodontal disease patients will display a disease specific transcriptome that differs from the oral neutrophil of healthy subjects.MethodsVenous blood and oral rinse samples were obtained from healthy subjects and chronic periodontitis patients for neutrophil isolation. mRNA was isolated from the neutrophils, and gene expression microarray analysis was completed. Results were confirmed for specific genes of interest by qRT-PCR and Western Blot analysis.Results and DiscussionChronic periodontitis patients presented with increased recruitment of neutrophils to the oral cavity. Gene expression analysis revealed differences in the expression levels of genes from several biological pathways. Using hierarchical clustering analysis, we found that the apoptosis network was significantly altered in patients with chronic inflammation in the oral cavity, with up-regulation of pro-survival members of the Bcl-2 family and down-regulation of pro-apoptosis members in the same compartment. Additional functional analysis confirmed that the percentages of viable neutrophils are significantly increased in the oral cavity of chronic periodontitis patients.ConclusionsOral neutrophils from patients with periodontal disease displayed an altered transcriptome following migration into the oral tissues. This resulted in a pro-survival neutrophil phenotype in chronic periodontitis patients when compared with healthy subjects, resulting in a longer-lived neutrophil. This is likely to impact the severity and length of the inflammatory response in this oral disease.

The association between diabetes and periodontal diseases is well-established. Diabetes is a risk factor for periodontal disease, with diabetic patients exhibiting an increased prevalence, extent and severity of gingivitis and perio- dontitis compared to healthy adults. Several mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes have also been associated with periodontal disease progression. It is recognized today that there is a bidirectional relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease, with recent research showing that periodontal disease may affect the metabolic control of diabetes in diabetic patients. In this review, we present the current knowledge of the interplay between periodontal diseases and diabetes through the evaluation of randomized control and longitudinal cohort studies published in the past 15 years. Current data support the conclusion that diabetic patients are at increased risk for periodontal diseases, and that patients with poorly controlled diabetes are at risk for severe periodontitis. This results in the destruction of oral connective tissue and generalized bone loss, leading ultimately to tooth loss. Although the effect of periodontal disease on glycemic control in type 1 diabetic patients is controversial, evidence does show a direct correlation between periodontal health and glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients. Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated the beneficial effect of periodontal treatment on metabolic control of type 2 diabetic patients.

Our findings demonstrate that a group of refractory patients with increased clinical AL present a hyperactive oral neutrophil phenotype characterized by increased potential for ROS production. Identification of this exaggerated oral neutrophil phenotype could allow clinicians to identify which patients are more susceptible to rapid disease progression.